I remember watching SportsCenter when it was announced. Ran and told my dad... we just sat on the couch in disbelief. I remember my dad trying to talk up Lamar Gordon too, later on when we traded for him. Like, "They're saying he's really good..., just that he runs a bit too upright. Maybe we'll be OK."

EPSN's 30 for 30, "Run Ricky Run" is easily one of my favorites.

 

Burned his jersey on my grill that day. A move that I ended up regretting.

 

I wasn't surprised. I never liked him and knew he was a strange character from things I had heard from a cousin that was a longtime Texas football fan.

 

I was shocked and crushed. Felt like I'd been punched in the gut. A team that had been so close year after year just fell apart in a heartbeat between Ricky and a few other things. I met my wife a few weeks later, and I've joked that apparently I just can't have a good personal life and a good football team at the same time :lol:

 

So it's your fault?

Welp, time to fall on that grenade and get a divorce. If you wanted to estrange yourself from the rest of your family and friends too that couldn't hurt.

 

Was on the throne, listening to sports radio just smh saying out loud "it figures."

 

Creepy.:shifty:

 

I found out watching CNN Headline News' running news ticker at the bottom. I'm like, "HUH???!!!!"

 

I was getting ready for Church and turned on ESPNews to see they were running a story about Ricky helping out some kids. I stopped what I was doing and called someone in to see it. I kid you not, I turned and said "see, he's not that bad a guy." As soon as the story is over, they go back to the desk and say that they'll have much more on Ricky Williams shocking retirement coming up.

Oh the irony. (and anger)

 

Serious question:Is there any Dolphins figure whom you genuinely admire, on our off the field?

 

I never got the hatred part...I mean, Ricky got Wannstedt & co out of the Dolphins organization! Its just a shame its pretty much been a disaster since then anyway. :(

If he didn't retire they would've went 8-8 and Wanny may have been back for what would have been a terrible 2005. But maybe we would've dodged Saban lying and bailing. Oh well.

 

Wannestedt's stache tickled all the right places.

 

Ricky should have been a sure fire HOFer, just didn't care enough about the game. Can't blame him, its his body and his life, if he had other interests or just got tired of it I can't personally fault him. I thought the timing was lousy and that he should have quit earlier to give us more time to replace him but hey it cost him a ton of money and any shot at being considered an alltime great so he paid for it.

 

My friends always used to joke during the Ricky years saying, "Ricky broke his leg." trying to get me going. So when my roommate woke me up in 2004 to tell me Ricky retired, I figured it was another goof. Couldn't believe it. It was a tough pill to swallow, but I was able to quickly forgive him when he came back.

He's one of my favorite Dolphin players of all time. Such an interesting athlete and he was fun to watch.

 

This was right around the time Shaq came to the Heat as well. Maybe there's a balance going on with our pro teams, and with the departure of Lebron, we can expect a resurgence from our Dolphins.

 

I was happy for him. I was upset because I knew the team would be worse but I was hoping it would force out wannstedt or at least force him to utilize some of the other players. Rw had set a record for the amount of carries he took in those two prior seasons that may stand for a while. It was too much abuse for any one player and it was going to be more of the same due to the lack of offensive ingenuity by the coaches and inability to get another playmaker or two by the front office. I still believe we wasted a championship opportunity there by having such a horrid front office

 

I am Ricky Williams seething desire for meditational bliss...

 

funny now that he's teaching the sport...I'm pretty sure he loved the sport just not the stuff that comes with it, like media and perception, maybe the coaching aspect has a purity and isolation that allows him to have it his way.

 

It's crazy that everyone remembers where they were at when they heard/saw the news. One of those epic events as a fan for sure.

I was turning 21 on a cruise with my friends - all Dolphins fans. We were getting ready to go for dinner and saw on ESPN ticker that Ricky was retiring. I had a double-take because I didn't believe it. So, I waited for it to make it's way all the way around and I read it again. I told my buddy and we just took the next 30-45 minutes and missed dinner. We just watched the TV in disbelief. Then we had the night(s) of our lives, haha.

Just totally sucked.

We were just like everyone too. We thought we could get by with Lamar Gordon. I thought Fiedler could throw it around with Booker & Chambers...nope.

That literally changed the entire tide of our franchise. I love Ricky though. He's incredibly honest, refreshing, human, and full of fault...just like all of us. Good dude.

 

[video=youtube;y88l4JDQwfY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y88l4JDQwfY[/video]

Enjoy the memories.




p.s. I loved the misdirectional hands offs. What ever happened to them? No one in the league does it anymore. Ricky was so money on that run play. Once defenders took a step in the wrong direction, Ricky was ready to fly past you or truck you over.

 

Them Kansas City highlights...

 

I used to wonder how such a big dude could be so damn fast...

I'm sure many defenders did too.

Hurt deep when he "retired."

 

Since his retirement ?? Which one ??


Seriously, guy was a 'me' player. There is no forgiveness in that, the same with Martin and his antics. I disowned RW when he quit the first time and have never, ever looked back...I'll do/have done the same thing with Martin...

 

But thats the price athletes who want to be great have to pay. I do think he had other interests and thats not a knock on him as a person. I would have as a a fan of the game and him, loved to have seen him not lose those prime years but it was his choice and his body, I can't blame the guy.

 

Yeah sometimes I wonder what he could of been if..Jesus he was scary in his prime.

 

it's 2021 already?

 

I wasn't all that shocked. Wannstadt had been using him as a human battering ram for 2 years, and all indications were that he was just going to keep hammering Ricky and had made no plans to improve the passing game, or draft a relief runner for Ricky.

You have to go back to the days of Csonka, Kiick and Morris to find the last time that kind of attack was a success in the NFL, and even then you had Griese to Warfield over the top to keep defenses honest and the load was being split among three RBs not carried by one.

The man's body was being ground into the dust by a clueless HC with no realistic prospect of a SB win to go with it. I don't blame Ricky for retiring at all.

 

He did the same thing when he was at Pitt....ran Dion Lewis like 45 times in a game..not cool.

 

I could watch that Ed Reed play on loop. I remember it live; a jaw dropper.

 

It was nice to see an OL that could block. I also miss the way Jay Fiedler could sell the fake handoff, but I don't miss his noodle arm.

 

The only move I can remember as pissing me off about equally was when JT signed with the Jets. I believe that the two of those incidents is living proof that Freddy Krueger is real.

 

I sincerely believe Wannidiot was THE WORST coach we ever had. I would take Cam before him.

Those Wanny teams so very underachieved. Leading rusher & leading pass rusher....and we missed the playoffs?!?!?!?!?!?

It was him and him alone that kept this team from greatness during the ZT & JT years, whether as a coach or as a GM. People are blinded the record we had while he was here, but that record should have been considerably better if not for his ineptness.

 

Could have been a HoFer whether the Dolphins were successful or not. So much talent....threw away what could have been an untouchable legacy....

Still...he was the most talented RB we've ever had and likely ever will.

 

Yeah as really hate it that Ricky should had stayed a lot longer. But the suits meaning the big Fins bosses, had other ideas. Wonder if that is biting them in the rear still.

 

At least he also did that once with Lamar Smith giving him 40 and that worked really well against Indianapolis. That was an anomaly though

 

I watched that Pitt game, the kid was tired man, I remember writing on this board that if I was Lewis father I would of showed up at his office and said my peace, you messin with my boys future son..recruit another freakin back..

 

Wasn't Lamar Smith completely dead the next game?